The U.S. Travel Association condemned a bill introduced by
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) that would restrict visa issuances in the wake of
last week's terror attacks in Paris.
"In the aftermath of 9/11, America and its leaders
chose freedom over fear, which enabled our nation's recovery on multiple
levels,” said CEO Roger Dow in a statement responding to the GOP presidential
candidate’s proposal. "That was the proper instinct then and it remains so
now.”
Paul's legislation would suspend visa issuance for countries
with a high risk of terrorism and impose a waiting period for background checks
on issuing visas from other countries "until the American people can be
assured terrorists cannot enter the country through our immigration and visa
system,” according to a statement on the Rand Paul for President website.
“The time has come to stop terrorists from walking in our
front door,” Paul said in the statement. “My bill will press pause on new
refugee entrants from high-risk countries until stringent new screening
procedures are in place."
The proposed legislation would also impose a 30-day waiting
period for all entries to the U.S. in order for background checks to be
completed, unless the traveler has been approved through the Global Entry
program. This would include citizens of countries in the Visa Waiver Program,
who are currently able to visit the U.S. without a visa if they meet certain
requirements.
Dow countered that the Visa Waiver Program is an
"effective, essential security tool that we cannot afford to relinquish,
especially when it played zero role in the Paris attacks. Let's address the
security problems we have, rather than creating new ones.”
Dow further suggested that Paul’s ideas were isolationist in
nature.
"The world is a complex and connected place, which
means that we best find ways to use technology and our alliances to secure our
homeland,” he stated. "Tempting though it sometimes may be, we can't
simply shut ourselves off from the world. If we do, shame on us, because then
we're giving the enemy precisely what they want — terror, resignation, our
prosperity and our very way of life."